How to cook The Gibraltar Vegan's traditional Christmas dinner... without the turkey

By The Gibraltar Vegan

It’s the most wonderful time of the year as the song says.

It’s a time for family, friends, giving, receiving, laughter, relaxation, a mulled wine or two and of course Christmas dinner. As more and more people become vegan, a nut roast is becoming the firm favourite to replace turkey and ham as the traditional Christmas dinner.

My nutty seedy loaf tastes great with all the usual vegetable trimmings of the traditional Christmas dinner, or go that one-step further and bake my broccoli cheesy bake.

When I do not have time to make stuffing from scratch, I use Paxo’s sage and onion stuffing (it is vegan).

NUTTY SEEDY LOAF

NUTTY SEEDY LOAF

Ingredients (makes two generous size portions)
You can replace any of the nuts or seeds with your favourite flavour or simply buy a bag of nuts and seeds that are already mixed.

35g chopped pecan nuts
35g chopped hazelnuts
35g chopped walnuts
35g chopped pumpkin seeds
10g chopped sunflower seeds
1 tsp mixed herbs
55g breadcrumbs
200ml water
75g chickpea flour
1¼ tsp garlic paste
1 tbsp tomato puree
3 tbsp Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (you can use soy sauce or tamari but I find soy too salty and while tamari is not as salty as soy)
1 carrot
½ tsp cracked black pepper

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C and line with grease proof paper and grease a bread loaf tin
2. Pour the water, garlic paste, tomato puree, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos and chickpea flour into a bowl and combine it. Make sure there are no lumps created by the flour, I use a whisk to help reduce this risk. However, if you do get lumps don’t worry you can put it in the blender to remove them
3. Once this mixture is ready add the nuts, seeds, herbs, breadcrumbs and cracked pepper and stir. I buy the nuts and seeds whole and place them in the blender to chop up.
4. Pour the mixture into your greased and lined tin
5. Cut the carrot into batons and place on the top of the loaf in the shape of a Christmas tree (or any other design if you make this during the year)
6. Brush the carrots with a tiny bit of olive oil
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes
8. Wait 10 minutes for the nutty seedy loaf to cool down before cutting/serving

PARMESAN CHEESE

PARMESAN CHEESE

Ingredients
135g raw cashews
15g nutritional yeast
1tsp sea salt
½ tsp garlic powder

This Parmesan cheese will not only keep for a few weeks in the fridge, it is easy to make, tasty and so versatile. It is used in the broccoli bake recipe but I also use it in Mac and Cheese, sprinkled on pizza or a nice warm tomato soup.

Method
1. Place all the ingredients into a blender and mix it until it looks like crumbs.
2. Sprinkle it like a unicorn sprinkles glitter, all over.

BROCCOLI CHEESY BAKE

BROCCOLI CHEESY BAKE

Ingredients
2 heads broccoli
5 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves chopped garlic
450ml unsweetened roasted almond milk
6 tsp arrowroot
80g Parmesan cheese (see other recipe in this feature) (60g for the sauce and 20g for the topping)
30g nutritional yeast

Minus the broccoli, you have all the ingredients you need to make any other cheesy bake using cauliflower, potato gratin or the sauce for the perfect Mac and Cheese.

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C and grease a medium size baking dish
2. Place the olive oil in a saucepan and heat, add the chopped garlic and cook until light golden brown
3. Add the arrowroot, whisk/stir until a light paste is formed
4. Add the milk slowly while whisking/stirring and mix until it is all blended. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes. This will all get blended so if it appears lumpy do not fret
5. Place in the blender and add 60g parmesan cheese and nutritional yeast and blend it on a high speed until you have a smooth creamy sauce
6. Place the broccoli into the pre greased dish and pour the sauce on top making sure you cover all of the broccoli
7. Sprinkle the remaining 20g over the broccoli and sauce, place in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, depending on how cooked you like your broccoli

Follow The Gibraltar Vegan for more recipes or tips on where to eat vegan food in Gibraltar and the surrounding area.